Crimson Shadows
by nEo-FoxFlame
Summary: Yamachi AU! Matt's new house in Japan gives off an aura.....of eerieness. One night, the kids are at home, playing on a ouija board. They call up a ghost who was murdered in the house. His name:Taichi. His mission:To take Matt into his past to fix it.R&R!
1. Prologue: Stepping Into A Haunting

Hey there everybody! Tyson_FoxFlame reporting to you live from....my living room actually. Well, this is the first fic that me and nEo-cHaN are going to write together and since it was my idea, I'm writing the first chapter! Anyway, like the summary said, this is an AU. Uh, read in our bio for the whole summary I guess. Right now all I can say is what it says in the little summary. Matt moves into a new house, plays with a Ouija board, meets Tai and is sucked into his past repeatedly. Uh, yea, let's just type it shall we?  
  
Disclaimer: I own Tai. I am Tai. Tai I am. Would you like blue eggs and spam? But I don't own Digimon. I own this idea though so nah! *sticks out tongue childishly*  
  
KTF: Ooh boy.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"Jeeze Dad, thanks for letting us know that we're moving!" Matt yelled at his father.  
  
"Matt, calm down." Masaharu Ishida tried to reason with his eldest son. Matt got up and started pacing around the living room, all eyes trained on him.  
  
"Ok, wait a sec. You just told me that we're going to move to the other side of the world in less then a week and you expect me to be calm? I don't think so, sir!" Matt emphasized his last statement, glaring at his father.  
  
"Aw, c'mon Matt. It won't be that bad if you think about it." TK stepped in. Now normally, Matt would have listened to his younger brother, but in this case....  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WON'T BE THAT BAD?" Matt roared in rage.  
  
"Matt we're moving. And that's final." Masaharu put his foot down, deciding for the whole family. Natsuko Ishida nodded firmly in agreement with her husband. TK didn't say anything as he watched his brother. Matt let out a frustrated scream and stormed to his room.  
  
"I suppose that could of gone better."  
  
"It could of, but it's all right. He just needs to get used to it. After all, he's leaving behind all of his friends, relatives, his band, everything he grew up around. Give him time." Natsuko said, getting up to wrap her arms around her husband.  
  
"I suppose you're right." Masaharu said, kissing his wife. TK groaned and covered his eyes, walking away.  
  
"Get a room you two." He said, retreating to his own bedroom.  
  
"At least he's handling this whole thing better." Masaharu commented.  
  
"Matt will come around. Trust me." Natsuko said.  
  
"I hope so. I can't help it. My job wanted me too. Not like I could really say no."  
  
"Don't stress about it. Let's just get to packing up." She smiled softly and headed into the kitchen, throwing things into different boxes.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
That Sunday morning, all 4 of the Ishidas were sitting on a plane to fly to their new home.  
  
"I still can't believe you're dragging us to Japan." Matt grumbled as he flopped into his chair. TK sat down next to him.  
  
"I already explained this, Matt. My job had to relocate me. And there's nothing I can do about it." Masaharu sighed, sitting across the aisle from his sons with his wife.  
  
"I highly doubt that." Matt said, digging through his bag.  
  
"Matt, it'll be fine. Think of it as a new adventure." TK compromised with his brother.  
  
"Whatever." Matt said, slipping on his headphones. The plane took off and soon they were hovering in the air, flying to Japan.  
  
"Matt, listen to me." TK said, turning towards the other boy. Matt said nothing, but glanced in TK's direction.  
  
"It really isn't Dad's fault. We're going to get more money this way. And we'll get to experience life in a new country. It'll be something to look forward to, don't you think?" TK asked him. The older blonde boy snorted and turned up his music. TK sighed and looked away, defeated. 'No getting through to him I suppose.' TK thought to himself as he picked up his book and started to read. Matt looked at him from the corner of his eye and saw that he was reading. He turned down the music and closed his eyes. 'They made me leave everything behind. My home, my friends, Jen.....wonder what she'll do without me?' Matt thought to himself as images of his girlfriend came to him. Her shoulder length brown hair with blonde, black, and red streaks in it, her emerald green eyes, and her sweet smile, the one that filled his days with joy and haunted his dreams. Matt shook his head vigorously and turned up his music again. He never said he wanted to go to Japan. He never said he wanted his father to be promoted. He never said he wanted things to change!  
  
"C'mon Matt, now you're just being selfish." He said to himself. Change was hard for him. He never had liked change. In fact, it scared him. There were quite a few things that scared Matt Ishida. But no one ever knew. Matt liked to keep his fear to himself. Oh yes, many a thing was he afraid of.  
  
For starters, he was afraid of falling. As soon as he had stepped on the plane, his nerves hiked up. He feared of the plane suddenly failing and falling from midair. Falling from high places almost surely meant death.  
  
Another thing he was afraid of. Death. He was afraid of how he would die. If he would die a quick, painless death; or a death that dragged on slowly and mercilessly. It made him shiver to think about all the ways to die. There was always dying in his sleep, which he wouldn't mind. But then, you have the other deaths, the ones you can't control. Such as being hit by a car, being bit by a rabid or poisonous animal, fire, earthquake, hurricane, drowning, and lastly, there was murder. That's the one Matt feared the most. Murder meant that someone had been stalking him for quite some time, planning everyday how to kill him just right. And if it was murder, he would have no time to defend himself against whatever happened, and he would die. And then he would become a ghost.  
  
Ghosts....not something people usually think about. Ghosts are said to just not exist at all. They were just legends and stories people made up to tell others for a good scare. Or were they? Matt didn't really believe in ghosts. In fact, he laughed at the mere idea. But he did believe in the supernatural. Like aliens and werewolves. Outrageous as it may seem, it was the truth. And there was nothing anyone could do to change it.  
  
"You should be happy for Dad. He got a better job and a great opportunity and here you are pouting like a 2-year-old. Stop it. Be happy for him." Matt scolded himself. There was a small tap on his arm, causing Matt to jump in his seat. He turned and looked at TK, who had a concerned yet confused look on his face.  
  
"Are you ok...?" He asked his older brother, looking into the blue eyes. Identical to his very own.  
  
"Huh?" Matt blinked a few times and remembered that they were on a plane.  
  
"Oh, right. Yea, I'm fine. Sorry." Matt gave him a sheepish grin.  
  
"Ri-ight." TK said, obviously not believing the elder. "So then you were just talking to yourself for no apparent reason." Matt's face turned red and he looked away.  
  
"Yea. Just making sure I know how to speak English still." Even to his own ears, the excuse sounded lame.  
  
"Whatever." TK rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his book. Matt sighed and turned off his CD player, popping out the disc that was in there. He opened his bag and pulled out a CD case, trading his 3 Doors Down CD for his Maroon 5 CD. (a/n: I just got that CD and I luv it!) He listened to the CD straight through when it landed on one of his favorite songs. He started to sing along with it softly, right at his favorite part.  
  
"Tap on my window, knock on my door, I want to make you feel beautiful. I know I tend to get so insecure, doesn't matter anymore. It's not always rainbows and butterflies, it's compromise that moves us along. My heart is full and my door's always open, you can come anytime you want. I don't mind spending everyday, out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay awhile. And she will be loved, and she will be loved. And she will be loved, and she will be loved." Matt sang along with it, not loud enough for anybody but TK to hear. TK smiled gently at his brother, as he didn't even realize that TK could hear him. But if anything could make him happy, it was singing. So TK left him singing his broken heart out, closing his eyes due to Matt's soothing voice. Tears pricked at the back of Matt's eyes, begging to fall. Matt stubbornly brushed them away and changed the song.  
  
His last fear. Crying. He didn't allow himself to show weakness. To him, crying was a weakness. He couldn't allow himself to cry. It would ruin everything he had built up for himself. Crying caused even more bad things to happen. The same song played in his ears, Matt having forgotten that he had the hold button on. Unwillingly, one single crystal dropped from the blue pools, followed by a few more. He looked out the window, away from his brother, away from his family. They couldn't know that he had fallen. He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to catch his breath. Without realizing it, he drifted off to sleep also.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The plane landed and the Ishida family climbed off of it, walking into the busy Odaiba airport.  
  
"Dad, Odaiba isn't even on the map." Matt said, shoving a map into his father's hands. Masaharu looked it over and shrugged, handing it back to his son.  
  
"Well, it has to exist. After all, we're here!" he exclaimed, leading the group to baggage claim. After claiming all of their bags and boxes of everything, they headed out of the airport.  
  
"Natsuko, why don't you take Matt to the house and TK and I can go register these guys for school?" Masaharu suggested.  
  
"I think that's a good idea. We'll meet you back at the house. You remember how to get there right?" Natsuko asked him, hailing a taxi in the meantime.  
  
"Of course. See you at home." Masaharu called out as he and TK hopped into a different taxi. Natsuko and Matt loaded everything they could into one taxi and in the end, they had to call a second one to fit the last of their luggage in. Natsuko sat in front with the driver and directed him to the house, leaving Matt alone in the back seat, taking in all of the landscape of Odaiba. It was a rather large city, blossoming with it's end-of-summer beauty.  
  
"So what do you think, Matt?" Natsuko jerked him out of his thoughts. Matt looked up and forced a grin.  
  
"It's prettier then Texas." Matt admitted. 'Now if only the people are as good looking as the ones in Texas.' He added to his thoughts. The car ride was very quiet for Matt as his mother and the driver rattled on about something. In a matter of 20 minutes, they stopped and pulled into a driveway. Matt got out of the taxi and stared at the house before him. It was at least 3 stories with an old fashioned style to it. It may have been a beautiful house at one time with its balcony-type windows with the elaborate sliding doors and the wide French doors leading to the inside. But it looks slightly eerie in a sense. The top window is what made it look weird. The window was busted in a few of the panes, and the inside of wherever it led was dark.  
  
"THIS is where we're going to live?" Matt asked his mother in disbelief. Natsuko nodded happily and smiled.  
  
"Isn't it lovely, Matt?" she said and started directing some people who had showed up to move things into the house. Matt just stood in his spot, looking over the house.  
  
"Something's not right here.." Matt said to himself, trying to place a finger on it.  
  
"Matt, come on inside honey!" Natsuko called to him from the front porch. Matt shook his head and walked towards his mother.  
  
"Snap out of it Matt. You're just freaking yourself out." He told himself and walked into the front hall.  
  
"This place will look absolutely wonderful once we move all of our things in." Natsuko gushed, bouncing off to grab something from one of the movers. Matt nodded and slowly followed her. That eerie feeling had returned, more strongly this time. Matt couldn't shake off the fact that something was wrong. It felt as though someone was watching him, following his every step. He turned around sharply and his eyes darted around the room. He walked right into his mother, who had stopped without warning.  
  
"Be careful, Matt." She warned him and started walking again. Matt kept his eyes glued to the ground, watching more of where he was walking then what was around him. He followed his mother upstairs and stood in a doorway.  
  
"TK's room is right down the hall, and this is your room." Natsuko said, opening the door. Matt peered inside and blinked, walking in cautiously. The room was a decent size with the window opposite of the door and the closet on the left wall. That eerie feeling was still there, much stronger this time.  
  
"So, what do you think?" Natsuko asked, positively beaming. Matt swallowed hard and forced a smile.  
  
"Sure mom. It's great." He said uncertainly, looking at the floor.  
  
"All right, I'm going to go back downstairs. We'll move everything into your room in a few." Natsuko said, wandering back downstairs. Matt merely nodded and looked around his room. His eyes wandered over to the window. There was a spot under it. A spot of what looked like...  
  
"Blood." Matt breathed out, moving closer to it. He got down on his hands and knees and examined it closer.  
  
"Holy shit, it IS blood." Matt jerked away, bolting straight up. He glanced around the room nervously, turned, and ran out of the room and downstairs as fast as he could.  
  
"Mom!" he yelled, frantically searching for his mother. She was in the dining room lining up chairs.  
  
"Matt, what is it?" she asked him, watching her son run and pant towards her.  
  
"Mom, upstairs. My room. Blood spots. By window." Matt panted between each breath. Natsuko raised an eyebrow and followed her son back upstairs. Or rather, Matt dragged her back upstairs and showed her the spots.  
  
"See? That's NOT normal." Matt stressed. Natsuko just shook her head.  
  
"We'll just put a rug over it." She decided and walked back downstairs.  
  
"Like that'll help any!" Matt yelled back at her. He looked at the spots again when something strange happened. The blood spots slowly started shaking and they were sucked into the floor, almost like drinking the last few drops of a soda. Matt blinked in surprise at the floor, which was now clean.  
  
"This is too weird.." he trailed off and headed back downstairs, just as his father and TK returned.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
After quite a few hours of unpacking and unloading their belongings, the Ishidas were sitting around their fireplace with a box of pizza.  
  
"Isn't this house lovely?" Natsuko said once again, admiring the work they had done.  
  
"It does look much better now that everything's moved in." TK agreed with her.  
  
"What do you think, Matt?" Masaharu asked his older son. The blonde boy blinked, unaware that his father had addressed him.  
  
"It's nice." He lied through the skin of his teeth. 'If you don't count the creepy feeling and the disappearing blood spots.' He added as an afterthought. Masaharu checked the clock and nodded.  
  
"Well boys, I suggest you get to bed." He turned to his sons.  
  
"What for?" TK asked, reaching for another slice of pizza.  
  
"You both have school starting tomorrow."  
  
"What? Why so soon?" Matt intervened.  
  
"Because I said so. Now get going." He said to them playfully. TK groaned and marched upstairs, whining the entire way with Matt right behind him.  
  
"Night Matt." TK called out and headed into his room.  
  
"Night." Matt stood before the door to his room cautiously. He quietly opened the door and stepped in, turning on the lights. His room looked a little better now that all of his things had been moved in and arranged just how he wanted it. But it still was a bit eerie. Matt shook his head firmly and stripped down to his boxers.  
  
"Just ignore it Matt. Maybe it was just your imagination." He told himself as he climbed into bed.  
  
"Yea. Just your imagination..." He yawned and shut off the light, drifting off to sleep.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey, let me go!" a voice called out. The voice sounded like one of a child, a small boy maybe. Matt sat up in his bed, looking around for the source of the sound.  
  
"Please, just leave me alone!" the child's voice pleaded more persistently this time. Matt climbed out of bed and stood in the middle of his room.  
  
"Hello? Is there someone here?" Matt asked, his sapphire blue eyes darting in all directions.  
  
"Please, someone help me." The voice begged, close to the window. Matt cautiously walked over, still searching for something.  
  
"Hello? Where are you?" Matt whispered.  
  
"NO! Please, don't hurt me! Leave me alone!" the child's voice cried out. Matt quickened his pace and stood right next to the window.  
  
"What the?" he trailed off.  
  
"Please, just stop!" the child begged. Matt almost reached the voice when there was a loud gunshot. A crash was followed, and the sound of shattering glass was heard, indicating that the bullet or the person went straight through the window. Matt looked out the window, yet saw nothing.  
  
"How bizarre..." He trailed off again, slowly turning around. His gaze went up and his eyes met with a pair of red ones.....  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Matt woke up with a jolt, shooting straight up in his bed. Natsuko and Masaharu burst into Matt's room, flipping on the light.  
  
"Matt? Are you all right?" Natsuko asked, sitting down on her son's bed.  
  
"Mom, somebody was just shot!" Matt exclaimed, looking back towards the window. Natsuko looked at her husband and shook her head.  
  
"Honey, it was just a bad dream. It wasn't real." She consoled him, placing a hand on his back. Matt shook his head.  
  
"No, it was so real! The gun was fired and it went through the window." Matt argued. He hopped out of bed and ran to the window. But the window was in one piece. Masaharu grabbed Matt's arm and pushed him back on the bed.  
  
"Are you feeling all right?" he asked, feeling Matt's forehead.  
  
"I'm not sick! And it seemed so real! I could hear everything. And I could feel the air coming through the broken window!" Matt protested.  
  
"Sweetie, maybe you should go back to sleep. You only have nightmares when you aren't feeling well." Natsuko started to say.  
  
"I'm not sick! I feel perfectly fine! And it just....." Matt paused. Both of his parents looked at him expectantly, waiting for his answer. Matt realized that they wouldn't believe him no matter what. He sighed and gave in.  
  
"Maybe it was just a nightmare." Matt agreed with his parents. Natsuko nodded and kissed him on the forehead.  
  
"Of course it was. Now go back to sleep. You have school tomorrow." She said, rising up from the bed.  
  
"Right. Good night. Sorry." Matt apologized.  
  
"Don't worry about it. We just wanted to make sure you were safe." Masaharu said. Matt nodded and laid back against the pillow. Both of his parents left, and his father turned off the light.  
  
'Maybe it was just a dream.' Matt thought to himself and yawned. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It read 2:30 am.  
  
"A very weird and realistic dream." Matt said out loud. He closed his eyes and let himself fall back into his world of slumber. But little did he know, that from one corner of his room there was someone watching him. Sitting by the window was a boy, with blood red eyes.  
  
"Please help me.." the boy whispered in his childish voice, just before he disappeared.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Wow, this is so fun to write! So sorry if I made this kind of short. It's more of a prologue to get things started. Well, nEo and I are planning out for the next chapter, which she gets to write! *throws confetti and balloons* We really have big hopes for this story and would like it so much if you reviewed! This is our first shot at a joint fic, so let us know what you think. Well, this is Tyson signin' off. Next chapter, nEo- cHaN will be your host. Until next time happy readers, ttyl!  
  
Tyson 


	2. chapter 2: The Voices In My Head

nEo-cHaN here!!! Tyson and I would like to thank all the reviewers for the first chapter. Thank you *sooo* much!!! ^^ I suppose I won't ramble on and make you wait longer, so on with the fic!!!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon and neither does Tyson no matter how much we'd like to pretend. But Tyson does own the idea for this story.

********~********

'What a terrible night', Matt thought as he got ready for school in the morning. 'That was the weirdest dream ever. And still, it felt so real...' Matt shook his head and continued to get dressed. 'Lots of dreams feel real. I'm just being silly.'

When Matt got downstairs, TK was nervously poking at a leftover slice of pizza from the night before.

"I'm beginning to think this isn't edible," TK told his older brother, eyeing a speck of green on the pepperoni.

"That's what you get for trying to eat pizza that was left out all night," Matt said, rolling his eyes. He took another look at the pizza and made a face. "Suddenly I'm not hungry."

"Boys, your first day of school in Odaiba!" Natsuko said excitedly, coming into the kitchen with two brown paper bags. "Don't forget your lunches!"

Matt peered into the bag to find two slices of pizza. "Gee... thanks mom."

TK looked horrified when he looked in the bag, but quickly changed his expression when their mother turned around. "Thanks mom," he echoed.

"You boys should be off to school now. You don't want to be late!!"

"Bye mom," Matt said, turning to walk out of the kitchen.

"What about breakfast?" his mother asked.

"Uh... I already ate," he lied.

"Oh, alright. Have fun at school, honey!"

"Sure," Matt said. He slipped on his shoes, grabbed his skateboard, and left the house.

Hopping onto his skateboard, Matt started down the street. Once he'd gotten out of the area, the gloomy mood he'd had lifted and his thoughts became more optimistic. 'Maybe it won't be so bad. I'm probably just paranoid because it's a new house. Maybe they're right, maybe it *was* just a nightmare.'

Matt was broken out of his thoughts when he found himself on the floor next to his skateboard.

"Sorry," he said to the person he'd practically ran over, helping her up. "I guess I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's alright," the girl said, brushing off her clothes. She shook her pink hair out of her face and looked at Matt. "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"I just moved here," Matt explained. "It's actually my first day, I'm supposed to be going to school."

"Really? What school?"

"Odaiba High."

"Cool! I go there too! We can walk together!"

"Alright," Matt agreed. "I'm Matt."

"I'm Mimi. Your first day is gonna be so cool, everyone will love you!!"

"Why?"

"Let's put it this way, you're not exactly hard on the eyes. And you're not mean or anything, so I don't see why there would be a problem."

"You're really nice, you know that? And you're not 'hard on the eyes' either."

Matt and Mimi smiled at eachother.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Who is *that*?"

Matt and Mimi had just walked into the school, and already people were beginning to question Mimi. One girl was latched onto his arm, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Who's your amazingly hot friend?" she asked Mimi.

"That's Matt," Mimi said, "and would you kindly step away?"

"He's so cute," the girl gushed. She sighed dreamily. "I'm Sora... call me!!"

Giggling, she pulled out a pen and wrote her number on his hand then winked, blew a kiss, and skipped away.

Matt stared after her. "That was very... scary."

"Don't pay any attention to her," Mimi said, "and whatever you do, *don't* call her. She'll stalk you for life, if she already doesn't plan on it."

'Creepy', Matt thought with a shiver.

Mimi introduced Matt to some of her friends before the bell rang. It just so happened that Mimi was in his first class, so he didn't have to walk around trying to find it. Unfortunately, his teacher was a balding man with glasses who droned on and on.

"Is he always like this?" Matt whispered to Mimi in disbelief.

She nodded sympathetically. "Yup. He really doesn't seem to get that we ignore him. But he never checks the homework, so we never have to do it."

"Cool."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TK looked around at the unfamiliar faces and sighed inwardly. 'Time to make friends, I guess.'

He began to walk towards a group of people who looked friendly when someone put their hand on his shoulder and said hello. TK turned around to face a girl with short brown hair.

"Hi," he responded. "I'm TK."

"I'm Kari. This is my friend Miyako."

TK noticed that there was a girl standing beside Kari with purple hair and said hello to her as well.

"Sit down," Kari said, motioning to a seat beside her. "Let's talk."

"Where do you live?" Miyako asked as TK sat down.

"666 Madison Avenue," TK replied, then got nervous when the two girls stared at him. "What?"

"You live *there*?!" Miyako squeaked.

"Yeah... why?"

"Weird things happen in that house," Kari told him. "No one's lived there for a long time. People say that someone was murdered there."

"Sometimes as night the lights flicker on and off," Miyako added. "And you can see a shadow in the window. If the wind is blowing and you listen carefully, sometimes you can hear a boy's voice screaming and begging for help. Someone even heard gunshots there."

TK was beginning to get freaked out. He gulped. "Are you sure?"

Both girls nodded.

"Great," TK said, "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight."

Kari giggled. "Don't worry, they might just be rumors. If anything strange happens, though, you'll know why."

"Where do you guys live?" TK asked.

"Actually, I don't live too far from you," Kari said. "I live at 3101 Westshore Drive. It's an apartment building just down the street."

"I live in a house around there," Miyako added.

"Where did you guys hear those stories about my house?" TK asked, getting back on the subject.

"Oh, everyone knows about it," Kari said.

"My brother told me some of them," Miyako said. "He goes to Odaiba High and he says that once he and his friends went inside the house and a ghost chased them out."

"You have a brother? Kari, do you have any siblings?" TK asked.

"Oh, I'm adopted," Kari said.

"Oh! Sorry," TK said awkwardly. "Can I ask what happened to your real parents?"

"I don't know," Kari said with a shrug. "I was adopted when I was really little, so I don't remember them at all."

"Oh."

"Miyako and I should come over sometime," Kari said, "I'm not scared of that house. Are you, Miyako?"

"I guess not..." Miyako said slowly.

TK nodded. "We'll see."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At lunch, Mimi invited Matt to sit with her and her friends. He accepted, of course, and she introduced him to the people she hadn't already. Luckily, Sora was nowhere to be found. Mimi's friends greeted Matt cheerfully and he instantly felt welcome. Soon they were all chatting like old friends.

Matt laughed at a joke someone had just told, along with everyone else. He shook his head, still laughing, and took a sip of his drink.

_"Don't touch me!!"_

With a start, Matt managed to avoid spilling his drink and put it down. He looked at Mimi, but she was talking to someone else. 'Then it couldn't have been her,' Matt thought with a frown. 'So...?'

"Matt, what's up?" Mimi's friend asked.

"Huh?" Oh, nothing. I just... remembered something."

Her friend seemed to accept that and let the subject drop, beginning to tell a story. Matt stared down at his drink for a moment, then shook his head. 'You're just hearing things. Nothing to worry about.'

_"Stop it!!"_

Matt froze and looked around slowly. Who was saying those things?

_"Please!! Stop!!!"_

"Matt?"

Matt jumped and turned to Mimi, who was looking at him with a concerned face.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Matt said quickly. "Don't worry."

Mimi gave him an odd look, but shrugged. "If you say so."

Matt shook himself out of his daze and payed attention to what everyone was saying, joining in the conversation again. He ignored the faint calls in the back of his head. Maybe if he ignored them, they'd go away.

_"Please...help me..."_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Yoohoo!! Ma~att!!!

Matt froze when he walked into his next class and heard that voice. He turned slowly to find her smiling brightly and waving at him. Taking a deep breath, he began to walk towards her. She couldn't be *that* bad... could she?

"Hi, Sora," Matt said with a forced smile, approaching her seat.

"Hi, Matt!! I saved you a seat!!"

"Gee... thanks." Reluctantly, Matt sat down next to the red-haired girl.

"I saw you carrying a skateboard," Sora said, "do you skateboard?"

'Obviously,' Matt thought. "Yeah."

"Ooh, you're athletic!!!"

Matt stared at her for a moment. 'Is she *serious*?!'

"I play tennis," Sora told him, "last week my team got to the championships because *I* won the last game for us!! We won this trophy, and *I* got to keep it, and-"

"Oh, you know what? I've kind of got an eye problem... yeah, I have to sit close to the front. Bye!"

Matt stood up and hurried closer to the front of the room, sitting in an empty desk. Immediatly, the girls around him started giggling and one moved a desk over to be next to him.

Matt sighed and put his head in his hands. 'There's no escape...'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I think I'm going crazy," Matt announced to his brother that afternoon when he got home.

TK looked up from where he was getting a drink. "Huh? Why?"

"I keep hearing these voices," Matt said, shaking his head.

TK looked at his brother oddly. "...voices?"

Matt sighed. "Never mind."

"Food!!" TK suddenly exclaimed, making Matt jump. TK grabbed a loaf of bread from the fridge and held it up like a trophy.

It was Matt's turn to look at his brother. "And *who*'s the crazy one?"

"Yay, we don't have to eat pizza anymore!!!" TK paused. "I never thought I'd say that."

"A lot of things I never thought would happen are happening," Matt muttered. He then raised his voice. "I'm gonna go up to my room."

TK nodded, very involved in making himself a sandwich. Matt rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs.

As he was walking to his room, he heard something and paused in entering. He turned to the direction the voice had come from. Curious, he walked into the room across the hall. Looking around, he didn't see or hear anything. With a shrug, Matt began to walk out.

_"No!!!"_

Matt stopped short, whirling back around. 'I heard something that time for *sure*.'

_"Please, just leave me alone!!"_

"Who are you?" Matt asked aloud. "*Where* are you?"

_"STOP!!!"_

Matt jumped, stumbling back against the wall. That last cry had been more intense and louder than any other so far. Without another thought, he bolted out of the room and down the stairs. TK stared when his brother came running into the kitchen.

"What the...?"

"I'm going out," was all Matt said as he walked out of the kitchen and put on his shoes.

"Where?" TK questioned. "You don't even know the area!!"

Matt hesitated for a split second, then grabbed his skateboard from the closet and slipped on his jacket.

"Well, I'll learn."

He walked out the door, closing it rather forcefully behind him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Deep in thought, Matt stared at the ground as he travelled along the sidewalk.

'I know it wasn't just my imagination. That last voice was too real. But if I'm not dreaming, then that would mean...'

With a shiver, Matt dismissed the thought. 'Don't be silly,' he scolded himself. 'Ghosts don't exist, remember?'

Shaking his head, Matt made a sharp turn on his skateboard and headed in the direction he'd came from.

'Tk probably thinks I've gone insane. I'd better get back there.' Matt shook his head again. "Ghosts. Yeah right.'

********~********

A/N: And so ends chapter two!!! Hope you enjoyed, and there's a little button down there that may be useful... reviews please!!! See you in a while, because next chapter is Tyson!!!

~*nEo-cHaN


	3. chapter 3: Welcome To My Nightmare

**HELLO HAPPY BUBBLE WORLD! *grins like a lunatic***

**KTF: Ignore her, she's just really happy that you all reviewed. **

**Oh yea. Neo and I are both totally thrilled that this is turning out so well. I mean, 29 reviews for two chapters. LUVIN IT! Anyways, I'd normally go through and thank everybody individually, but I don't wanna waste more time. How about we just move right along, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: Neo and I don't own anything. I own the plotline, and Neo does too because I said so. **

**ALSO! I came up with another idea that Neo and I are going to write! So be on the watch for that! It'll be called Vampire Creek, an AU Taito.**

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It was now October in this point in our story. The Ishida boys had well adjusted to their new lifestyle and things where starting to mellow out. Well, for one of them anyway. Every night, Matt would lay wide awake, able to hear the painful screams of that one boy. And yet every morning, he would find nothing. He had had just about enough of it. He was going to get answers, right here, right now.

"Hey Mimi." He greeted the girl in the library. The pink-haired girl looked up and smiled warmly at him.

"Hey Matt. Where have you been? You weren't in first period." She said to him, pulling out a chair for Matt to sit. Matt sat down and looked at her expectantly.

"I had a doctor's appointment today." He replied, not breaking eye contact with her. Mimi fidgeted in her chair, feeling slightly nervous under Matt's intense stare.

"What's that look for?" she asked him finally.

"I want you to tell me everything about my house." Matt said firmly. Mimi blinked in surprise and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked, baffled at this request.

"I know that there's something weird about my house. And I know that you know it too. And I want you to tell me what happened." Matt demanded. Mimi got out of her chair and grabbed her bag.

"Follow me. I think you need to meet another one of my friends." She said. Matt stared at her oddly, but followed her out of the library and down to the newspaper room. Mimi knocked on the door first and then walked inside. The only person in the room was a boy their age with brown hair and violet eyes. 

"Hey Mimi. What brings you here?" the boy asked, turning around in the computer chair he was sitting in. Mimi smiled and sat on a stool next to him.

"Matt, this is my friend Adam Inoue." She introduced them.

"Nice ta meet ya, Matt." Adam nodded hello. Matt smiled in return and nodded back. 

"Anyway, I brought him here to talk to you." Mimi continued.

"About what?" Adam asked, tucking his pencil behind his ear and crossing his arms over his chest.

"He wants to know about his house." Mimi replied for him. Adam turned his attention to Matt, looking into his blue eyes critically.

"Where do you live?" Adam asked, violet eyes twinkling with mischief and curiosity.

"666 Madison Avenue." Matt replied, waiting for the reaction he knew he'd get. Adam's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly.

**"DUDE ARE YOU SERIOUS?" **Adam yelled, shocked at this discovery. 

"Oh, so you **DO **know something about my house." Matt said as a blonde eyebrow quirked up. 

"Hell yea! You live in that weird-ass house on the hill!" Adam exclaimed, scooting his chair closer to Matt and Mimi.

"That's right. Now, what do you know about that house?" Matt said firmly, relieved that he was finally getting somewhere.

"Dude, there is some majorly freaky shit that happens in that house." Adam said, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, even though he knew what Adam meant.

"That house is haunted!" Adam exclaimed, getting worked up again.

"Ok. Now tell me what you know about it being haunted." Matt asked, resting his chin in his hands.

"Well, let's see. People say that a family was murdered there about 5 years ago, wasn't it Meems?" Adam asked, looking for clarification from his friend.

"Something like that." She replied, waiting for Adam to continue with the story she had heard so many times before.

"Right. So anyway, they say that it was a little boy who was killed. Actually, since the guy killed the kid, the mother and then himself, it'd be considered more of a homicide. But there's a ghost in that house. It's rumored that it's the ghost of the little boy, wanting to tell the story of that night. If you listen carefully, you can hear the screams and cries of him, just before he was shot. At night, sometimes the lights on the second story will blink in a S.O.S pattern." Adam described. _'A ghost huh? So that's what I've been hearing this whole time….'_Matt thought to himself.

"Have you ever been inside the house?" Matt asked him. Adam nodded slowly with fear written in his eyes.

"Oh yea. Only once though. Me and a few of my buddies decided to go poke around inside just to see if all the rumors were true. At first, nothing seemed out of place. The house just appeared to be all run-down, but nothing scary about it. Then we started hearing the voices. And we ran out of this one room on the second floor and down the stairs. Somehow I ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere and I opened up a broom closet instead of the front door. And when I looked inside, there was one pair of glowing red eyes glaring at me. Nearly crapped myself and I took off running. All my friends were outside waiting for me and we just took off, not bothering to look back." Adam finished his ghost tale. Matt nodded grimly, suspicions confirmed. ****

_'So I wonder if those stories are all actually true. And if they are……..then why me? Why isn't TK hearing anything or seeing anything? Maybe I'm just going crazy and no one realizes it yet.' _Matt thought to himself, letting everything sink in. Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and jerking Matt out of his thoughts. He grabbed his backpack and headed to his English class, not giving a second thought about ghosts or the murder in his house.

***~*~*~*~*~***

Matt hopped off his skateboard and opened the front door, throwing it off to the side. He kicked off his black sneakers and wandered to where he knew his brother would be. The kitchen. Sure enough, TK had his head inside the refrigerator, poking around for anything edible. Suddenly having a very evil idea, Matt snuck up quietly behind TK. He was about to grab TK's sides to scare him, but something stopped him.

_"Please help me………I need you……"_That hauntingly childish voice whispered softly in Matt's ear. Matt stopped in mid-motion and stood there, listening for that voice again.

_"Please……..LOOK OUT!" _The voice yelled. Matt jumped and yelped, causing TK to jump and turn around, yelling out loud in surprise at how close Matt was.

"What the hell, Matt?" TK scowled. Matt blinked in surprise and slowly shook his head.

"I-nothing." He changed his mind, reaching around TK to grab a Mountain Dew from the refrigerator. He closed it behind him and turned, walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He opened his bedroom door and closed it behind him, flopping down on his bed. 

"I've gone insane." He muttered to himself. He opened the can of soda and drank a swallow, eyes now wandering around his room. _'Lights on the second story will flash in an S.O.S pattern…….does that explain why my lights have been acting so weird? And the screaming, well, only I can hear it. What's this all mean?'_Matt thought to himself, lying on his back with his eyes closed.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Matt asked aloud, not expecting an answer from anyone.

_"So you believe in me now, do you?" _the childish voice replied. Matt's eyes shot open and he bolted into a sitting position, looking around in all directions. 

"All right, show yourself. Where are you?" Matt demanded. From the corner of his eye, Matt saw something move in the shadows, followed by a laugh.

"This isn't funny. Look, uh…..whatever you are, you've been driving me nuts for the past month and a half. And I particularly don't want to keep playing games!" Matt yelled. Again, he saw movement, but no actual person.

_"Go look in the closet." _The child spoke again, sounding very close to Matt. Curiosity getting the best of him, Matt heaved himself off of the bed and stopped in front of his closet. His hand hovered above the handle, having sudden second thoughts. 

_"C'mon! Open it!" _The voice urged him. Matt nodded firmly and opened the closet door, but found……………….his clothes. Typical.

"All right, this is ridiculous. I'm not messing with this bullshit right now." Matt said to himself, starting to close the closet.

_"No! Don't do that!" _The voice cried out. Matt raised his eyebrow.

"Why am I even listening to you? You're not even real." Matt groaned**. **

_"Look in the back. On the shelve." _The little boy's voice instructed. Matt growled in frustration and re-opened the closet.

"All right, but if this is another one of your crazy games….." Matt trailed off, searching through his closet. Suddenly his hand hit something on the shelve. He pulled it out and examined it.

"What the?" Matt asked, examining the wooden board. It had all 26 letters, numbers 0 through 9, and yes and no printed on it in black letters. 

_"There's a piece missing!" _The voice said in surprise. Matt heard some rustling in the background, and was soon hit in the head by a little wooden heart.

"Ow! You little brat!" Matt yelped, rubbing his forehead where he had been hit. The child giggled again and said nothing.

"I swear, if you were real, I'd choke you right about now." Matt muttered under his breath.

"Uh, Matt? Who are you talking to?" TK asked, standing in the doorway of Matt's room. Matt jumped and spun around, eyes meeting those with a very suspicious TK.

"Um……nobody?" Matt said, nervously glancing over his shoulder as if he could see the ghost.

"Ri-ight……" TK drawled out, shaking his head. Matt forced out a grin and shook his head as well. He then remembered the wooden board in his hands.

"Hey Takes, do you now what this is?" Matt asked his brother, showing him the little wooden heart and board. TK's eyes lit up and he nodded.

"Cool! That's an Ouija board!" TK said in awe, prying the board away from Matt's hands.

"A what?" Matt asked, puzzled about the little board. TK had pronounced it "wee-gee" but Matt had never heard of it.

"An Ouija board. They're so cool. You call up spirits and they answer questions for you." TK babbled on. 

"How do you know?" Matt asked, amazed that his brother actually knew something.

"Me and Dameon played on one once last year. His brother's friend brought it with him." TK replied. Matt nodded and placed the little wooden heart on the desk, along with the board that he had reclaimed from TK. TK walked up behind his brother with a smile on his face, a smile that could only mean one thing.

"What idea do you have now?" Matt sighed, running a hand through his messy blonde hair.

"Well, Halloween's on Friday. I was thinking……maybe we could play it then." TK suggested with a smile. Matt frowned and poked at the board doubtfully.

"I don't know about that Takeru….." Matt trailed off. TK stuck out his tongue at the use of his whole name and shook his head.

"Oh come on Matt, it'll be fun! I promise." TK begged him. Matt sighed again and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Will Mom and Dad be around?" Matt asked his brother. 

"Nope, they're out to a party that night." TK's grin became wider, knowing he had won the battle. 

"Fine, whatever. We'll play the stupid thing." Matt groaned, knowing that he would regret it all later.

"Awesome! Can I bring a friend over too?" TK asked, suddenly remembering what Kari said about wanting to come over.

"Whatever. Now go away, I'm busy." Matt said, pushing his brother out the door.

"Busy talking to yourself?" TK teased him.

"Yes, busy talking to my-NO! Get out!" Matt growled and slammed the door. Matt glared around the room, almost daring the ghost to come back.

"Great, now you've got my brother thinking I'm a schizophrenic. Thanks a ton." Matt groaned and stormed out of his room, just wanting to take a nice, warm shower. Behind him a pair of red eyes shone in the back of his closet, followed by a fit of giggles, and they slowly disappeared.

***~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~**

Friday came far too quickly for Matt's liking. Friday meant Halloween. Halloween meant playing TK's stupid game. Playing TK's stupid game meant………….well, he wasn't quite sure yet, but he didn't like the sounds of it. 

"Hey Matt!" Mimi bounced up to him after school. Matt pulled his head out of his locker and smiled wearily at his friend.

"What's goin' on Meems?" he said before putting some more books inside his locker.

"Nothing. Just so happy it's Friday!" she beamed.

"Yea tell me about it. I just want this week to be over." Matt sighed, slamming the locker shut. He carried his skateboard under his left arm and he and Mimi walked down the hall.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?" Mimi asked him suddenly.

"Why?" Matt counteracted with his own question.

"I'm having a Halloween party at my house. An all-nighter. Wanna come?" she asked him, sparkles shining in her big, brown eyes.

"I wish I could Meems. Really wish I could. But I kind of promised my brother we'd do something tonight." He shrugged. Mimi nodded in understanding, but still a hint of disappointment was on her face.

"Oh, all right. I'm going to guess that you don't get to spend a lot of time with him lately?" Mimi said.

"Yea. So it's just kind of a hang-out thing." Matt shrugged it off again. By this time, they were outside of the building. 

"All right. Well then, I guess I'll see you on Monday." Mimi waved and turned, walking away from Matt. Matt waved back and dropped his skateboard. He hopped on and skated to his house, not looking very much forward to playing on the Ouija board. He jumped off the board and slowly walked up the steps and stepped through the front door. 

"Hey Matt." TK called out, bouncing into the front hall to greet his brother. Matt nodded in return and threw his skateboard into the hall closet.

"Right, let's just play your stupid board and get it over with." Matt sighed, kicking off his shoes.

"No way. We got to wait. At least until it's dark out." TK protested. Matt shook his head and flopped down on the couch, switching on the TV. He had quite a few hours to waste before dark. 

Time passed by slowly, but the clock soon chimed 9 o'clock. TK came out to the living room and dropped the board on the table. He looked at the clock and nodded to himself.

"My friend should be here any minute. I said 9." He informed Matt. No sooner had the words left his mouth there was a knock on the door. Matt got to his feet and walked out into the front hall, opening the door. On the other side was a young girl about TK's age with shoulder-length brown hair currently pulled back.

"Hi, is TK here?" she asked Matt, blinking up at him with her warm, amber-brown eyes.

"Um, yea. He's-" 

"Right here." Matt was cut off by TK joining the conversation. TK smiled at the girl and she stepped inside, eyes wandering around the house.

"So this is what it's like inside huh?" she said amusedly. TK nodded in response. Matt raised his eyebrow and watched the girl before him.

"Who are you?" he finally asked, patience wearing thin. TK smiled at his brother and nodded in her direction.

"This is Kari, my friend I told you would come over and play on the board with us." He explained. He turned to Kari and nodded at Matt.

"And that's my brother Matt." TK introduced her.

"Nice to meet you, Matt." She said cheerfully. Already Matt felt a happy aura around this girl. And he instantly liked her.

"Likewise. Did my brother drag you over here?" Matt teased, causing TK to grunt in result. Kari laughed and shook her head.

"No, I've always wanted to come here. Just to see what it looked like inside." Kari explained. 

"Well, we can show you around before we play the game." TK offered, wanting to please his friend.

"That sounds great. As long as you don't mind of course." She added quickly.

"Nah, it's cool." Matt stepped in. All three kids walked into the kitchen and dining room area. Kari examined the kitchen very closely, opening some random cabinets. Suddenly she walked over to a painting on the wall. She looked at it closely, and then moved it to the side, revealing a small cubbyhole.

"Whoa, I didn't know that was there." Matt said, genuinely surprised.

"Kari, how did you know that was there?" TK asked his brunette friend. The girl blinked in surprise at well, not sure of her actions.

"I'm…………not sure." She replied. She continued to stare at the cubbyhole, eyes not even blinking. 

_'It was like a sudden sense of déjà vu. Like, I've seen this before. But, that's not possible. I've never been inside this house before…..so how could that be?' _the young girl thought to herself. She shook her head vigorously, as if to clear her mind of abstract thoughts. 

"Well, where else boys?" she asked them expectantly. The two brothers continued walking around their house, showing Kari every room. They reached the second floor and walked into Matt's room first. Kari stood in the middle of the bedroom, looking in all directions. Suddenly, another sense of déjà vu came over her.

_"I promise no matter what, Kari, I'm always going to protect you. And that's a promise."_Those words rang through Kari's mind, for no apparent reason. There was something about this room that held another sense of familiarity. She walked away and into the next room, which happened to be TK's room. In TK's room, there was a sense of security. Something about his room made her feel safe. More images filled her minds slowly. 

_"You know, I was wrong about what I said earlier. About not wanting a baby sister. You're the best thing I have. I love you, Kari." _Kari swallowed hard and shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the voices. In her mind, she could clearly see a nursery. The crib was where TK's bed was, by the window, the changing table next to the door, and a rocking chair in the corner.

_'How is this possible? What on Earth am I missing? I've never been here! So why…..is this happening..?'_ The amber-eyed girl was confused beyond belief as she followed the two blonde boys out of the room. She looked down to the end of the hall and noticed a door.

"What's in there?" she asked, pointing to the door.

"We** THINK **it's the attic. Mainly because there's no other way to get to the top floor." Matt shrugged. 

"Can we go look?" Kari asked, curiosity growing by every minute.

"We should probably get to playing the game if you have to be home by 11." TK interfered. 

"He's got a point." Matt stated. Still disappointed, Kari reluctantly agreed and the trio walked down the stairs, back into the living room where they started. All three sat on the couch in front of the board.

"Well, Matt's never played on one of these. Have you Kari?" TK asked his friend.

"Nope. I've watched, but never played." She explained. TK nodded and put the little wooden heart on the board. 

"Now, we all put our hands on the heart and wait for a spirit to come." TK said. 

"I'll just follow your lead." Matt said, placing his hands on top of Kari's, whose were on top of TK's. TK nodded and shifted the weight on his hands.

"We all have to believe in this, otherwise it won't work." He firmly stated. The other two nodded and waited for TK's next move. TK closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Spirits of the world, if there are any of your kind present tonight, let them be with us." TK said. Matt had to bite his lip to prevent from laughing out loud. The whole speech was pretty corny, but he had to just wait. Or 'believe' as the younger put it. 

"Is there anyone with us now?" TK asked. Time went by slowly, each minute creeping along. A good 8 minutes had passed when Matt was getting tired of this.

"Guys, I don't think anything's going to show up." Kari voiced Matt's opinion. Suddenly, the little heart started to move.

"Are either of you making it move?" Matt asked, eyes darting around the now slightly darker room. 

"No." Kari whispered, in awe of the heart.

"It's working." TK whispered excitedly. The heart stopped on 'yes'. TK's grin grew wide across his face in triumph.

"Yes! Ok, what should we ask?" TK looked up at his brother and friend. Neither answered as they thought about questions.

"I've got one." Kari said after some time of thinking. 

"Go ahead and ask it then." TK encouraged her.

"Ok. Is this house really haunted?" she asked. The little heart started to move again, gliding over to each letter, and stopping briefly so they could read it.

"I-N. A. C-E-N-S-E." she spelled along with it. 

"What?" TK asked.

"In a sense. In other words, sort of. The spirit just spelled it differently." She replied. TK nodded and spoke again.

"How is it sort of haunted?" TK asked. Again, the heart moved.

"I. L-I-V-E. H-E-R-E." he read out loud. All three children blinked at one another in realization, or possibly shock.

"Are you the little boy who died here?" Kari asked. The heart moved and landed on yes.

"Guys, this is that kid. The one in all the ghost stories!" TK exclaimed. Matt didn't say anything throughout this whole ordeal, but just sat watching the younger ones.

"What's your name?" TK asked. The ghost began to move the heart**.**

"T-A-I-C-H-I. Y-A-G-A-M-I." TK read. 

"Taichi Yagami?" Kari repeated, looking down at the board. 

"How old are you?" she asked.

"No better yet, how old were you when you died?" TK changed the question.

"10." TK read from the board. Kari shook her head. 

"So he would be 15 now." She filled in.

"The same age Matt is." TK commented. Suddenly, Matt himself spoke up.

"Were you really murdered?" he asked quietly, yet firmly. The little heart didn't move again for a long while. 

"Did we loose him?" Kari whispered. The heart jerked around a bit and finally spelled out another word.

"Y-E-S." TK's eyes widened. Kari gasped and Matt bit his lip. They were dealing with a 10-year-old ghost who had been murdered in that same house 5 years ago. He would be 15 if he was alive, and his name was Taichi Yagami.

"I vote we stop playing. This is freaking me out." Kari said. 

"We can't stop playing though; we're just now getting somewhere." Matt protested. Then there was the sound of keys jingling and the door opened.

"Boys, we're home!" Natsuko's voice rang throughout the house. TK quickly shoved the board under the couch and Matt put the heart in his pocket, both boys jumping up to greet their parents.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad." They chimed simultaneously.

"Hello kids. Hope you stayed out of trouble." She said. It was just then she noticed the girl who was still sitting on the couch.

"And who's this?" she asked.

"This is Kari, Mom. I hope you didn't mind that I invited her to hang out for a while." TK said hastily.

"No of course not. Nice to meet you, Kari." The woman shook hands with the young girl.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Ishida. And Mr. Ishida." She addressed Masaharu as well. TK grabbed Kari by the arm and headed out into the front hall. 

"I'm going to walk Kari home." He hollered over his shoulder and the front door slammed. Matt was left by himself. He stayed and talked to his parents for a while longer before deciding it was time for bed. He ran up the flight of steps and into his own bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He stripped down to his boxers and crawled under his covers. He couldn't stop thinking about that boy though. Or the ghost, whatever he was. ****

_'That's what's been trying to talk to me for the past month huh? Wow…..who'd have known that ghost stories are true?' _He thought to himself. He forced himself to block out all thoughts of the earlier séance type ordeal, since thinking about it creeped him out. Another hour of tossing and turning later, he dosed off.

***~*~*~* Matt's Dream ~*~*~*~*~***

_Matt was walking down an endless hallway, trying to find a way out. He was going to crack if he stayed inside these walls any longer. He pressed on and on, hoping for an end. And miraculously, there was a door at the end of the hall. Matt broke into a run, dashing for the door. He turned the knob open and ran through the door, only to find himself in the living room. In front of him sat a little boy, no older then 4-years-old playing with some sort of action figure. His mother then came bustling out and walked towards the little boy._

_"Sweetie, there's something you should know." She spoke softly to the child._

_"What is it, Mama?" the little boy inquired, eyes so full of trust and innocence. Matt could see that the woman was pained in whatever it was she was going to tell her son, but it had to be done._

_"Honey, we have to give up Hikari." She spoke in that same gentle voice. The little boy's lower lip quivered and his brown eyes filled with tears._

_"What? Why? We can't get rid of Kari!" the boy protested. 'Kari?' Matt thought to himself, waiting for the rest of the scene to unfold._

_"Your father says we can't keep her. She needs to grow up in a better home." The mother kindly explained. But the little boy wouldn't hear of it._

_"YOU CAN'T GET RID OF HER!" he yelled as loud as he possibly could, breaking off into loud sobs. The mother picked him up and held him in her lap, hoping to at least bring some comfort to the boy._

_"It's better this way honey, it is." She kept saying over and over again. The little boy glared at his mother._

_"I hate you." He said quietly, but meaning every word._

_"What?" the mother asked._

_"I hate you. And I hate Daddy. You're making me loose everything I love!" the little boy shouted, now defiant against his parents' judgment. The father soon came in, just in time to hear those words leave his mouth. He marched up to the boy and slapped him across the face._

_"Taichi don't you EVER say that again!" his father roared before storming away. The women soon left also not too long after the father did. They left the little boy there, all alone to cry his sorrows and lull himself to sleep. Or so it seemed. Matt moved closer to the little boy, whose name was Taichi. 'Just like the ghost.' He noted to himself. He sat down next to the boy, smiling at his appearance. All around, he was a cute kid. Matt brushed some hair out of his face, and wiped away some tears. Suddenly, the little boy's eyes shot open._

_"Help me." He whispered in a chocked voice. _

**~*~*~*~*~*~ End of Matt's Dream*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Matt awoke with a start, panting and gasping for air. He looked around the room frantically, looking for anything out of the ordinary. His eyes landed on the clock, which read 2:53am. Matt groaned and got out of bed, walking into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and cupped his hands, letting them fill with cool water. He splashed it on his face and wrists to calm himself down. He dried his face with a towel and looked in the mirror. Even though it was dark inside the bathroom, he could still see his reflection. 

"Just chill out, Yamato." He scolded himself firmly. "It was just a dream. It meant nothing." He reassured himself. He put the towel down and walked away, heading back to his own bedroom. Had he stayed a bit longer, or maybe if he had just looked closer, he would have noticed the large pair of chibi-like red eyes, watching his every move.

"Welcome to my nightmare." His hushed voice breathed out briefly, just before he disappeared.

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**Holy cheezits! This took me a long time to write this. But that's ok it also took me a long time to update, lol. Well, let's see. If anybody's ever seen the show Tru Calling, they'll know what I mean when I said Tai's eyes shot open. In the show people will be all calm and stuff, eyes closed, and then BAM! They shoot open and whisper, "Help me." It's freakin' scary if you're not paying attention. Also, neither Neo nor I own the Ouija board idea and I personally don't have one. I don't know if she does or not, but still. Well, I can't really think of what else to say, but review please! Next chapter is Neo!**


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